Kathleen Kane Has AG Eric Holder on Her Side

A.G. Kathleen Kane (she of the luminescent teeth) has come under fire from conservatives (even liberals, here at Philly Mag) for refusing to defend the state’s anti-gay marriage law. Now, she’s got an ally in the man who holds the national version of her job.

Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. on Monday injected the Obama administration into the emotional and politicized debate over the future of state same-sex marriage bans, declaring in an interview that state attorneys general are not obligated to defend laws that they believe are discriminatory.

Mr. Holder was careful not to encourage his state counterparts to disavow their own laws, but said that officials who have carefully studied bans on gay marriage could refuse to defend them.

Not that being linked to Eric Holder is going to help her cause among Pennsylvania conservatives. But from a world-historical legacy perspective, she can claim at least partial credit for spurring his opinion on the matter. She’s one of six AGs in the country who are either refusing to defend, or have refused to defend, gay marriage bans.